AISES Professional Awards
As part of fulfilling this mission, AISES is delighted to announce the call for nominations of the sixth annual AISES Professional Awards for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The awards are presented to science, engineering and technical professionals in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments as leaders, innovators and role models.
Now in its seventh year, these prestigious series of awards will be presented at the AISES National Conference in Albuquerque, NM, which will be held November 11-13, 2010.
Eligibility
Any individual is eligible for consideration of a AISES Professional award based on their experience outlined under each award category.
Award Categories and Definitions
AISES Professional of the Year
The AISES Professional of the Year Award is presented for overall leadership and technical achievement. This individual is selected from among the top candidates submitted in all categories, therefore, individual nominations are not accepted for this award.
Executive Excellence
The nominee must be an experienced upper-level manager or a well-established engineer, scientist, professional, or academician who has significant department and budget responsibilities.
The Executive Excellence nominee will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Uniqueness of his/her obtained goal
- Level of responsibilities
- Degree of discipline for level of performance
- Ability to overcome obstacles facing minorities in his/her field
- Potential as a role model
- Involvement with the Native American/Alaskan Native community
- Presentation of the nomination package
Technical Excellence
The nominee must have made a significant contribution to science, engineering or technology by having designed, developed, managed or assisted in the development of a product, service, system or intellectual property.
The Technical Excellence nominee will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Uniqueness of his/her research
- Degree of impact research has on humankind
- Patents or Published works
- Potential as a role model
- Involvement with the Native American/Alaskan Native community
- Presentation of nomination packet
Most Promising Engineer or Scientist
The nominee must be a professional engineer or scientist with less than five years experience after earning his/her last degree. The candidate's early technical contributions should already indicate a promising career.
The Most Promising Engineer or Scientist will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Uniqueness and or innovation of contributions to organization
- Leadership abilities and/or initiative
- Professional and technical achievement to date
- Potential for advancement
- Involvement with the American Indian/Alaskan Native community
- Presentation of nomination package
Selection of Award Winners
The selection of the awardees will include a process that meets rigorous standards, is verified and validated. Each year a prestigious university will serve as the academic host to assure process and standards. A selection committee consisting of a variety of individuals from a diverse pool will review and score nomination packages individually.
AISES Professional of the Year Awards - 2009
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society is proud to announce that the recipients of the 2009 AISES Professional Awards.
The AISES Professional Awards were established in order to:
- Provide recognition for outstanding American Indian and Alaskan Native professionals in science, engineering and technological related disciplines.
- Assist with the advancement of American Indian and Alaskan Native professionals, role models and future leaders.
2009 Awardees
 Click to download full press release.
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Professional of the Year Award: Kimberley Oldham
Kimberley Oldham is from the Muscogee Nation. She is an Operations Project Manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District. In her position, she oversees the daily operation of John Day and Willow Creek dams along the Columbia River. This is a multipurpose project which includes hydropower, navigation, fish and wildlife, and recreation missions. She has her M.S. in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. She has long been an advocate for Native Americans as she was the Tribal Liaison for the Kansas City District early in her career and has been a part of AISES since college.
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Executive Excellence Award: Olav Kjono
Olav Kjono is currently a Program Manager for Lockheed Martin in the area of development of Radiant Mercury, an information and imagery sanitization, transliteration, and Cross Domain Transfer Solution System. He was also certified as a project manager, systems engineer, and production quality manager in the Navy prior to retiring in 2001. He received his M.S. in Systems Engineering from George Washington University and his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Olav is from the Mohawk tribe in Kahnawake and is married to the former Alice Welsh. They have two children, Sandra and Eric, who are both professionals in the field of engineering.
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Technical Excellence Award: Richard Harper, Ph.D.
Dr. Harper is a Research Staff Member for IBM Research in the field of Computer Systems. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Computer Systems Technology/Aerospace Engineering. He also holds a M.S. in Physics and Aerospace Engineering from Mississippi State University. His current focus is to conceive of and bring to the market a variety of advanced technologies in the areas of virtualization, high availability, problem prediction and problem determination, workload management, and systems management. Dr. Harper is Mississippi Choctaw and is married to Ruth Harper. They have one son, Michael.
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